2020 will be more turbulent than 2019, unless…
The year 2020 will most likely be as turbulent if not more so than 2019 due mainly to the lack of American leadership and the... Read More
The Islamic State after the Islamic State
The war against IS will not be won militarily. The world has only has to look at the American military’s “surge” in Iraq of 2006-2007... Read More
Towards a grand plan for the Middle East?
It is the diversification of contemporary global energy markets that provides the international community with the opportunity to treat the Middle East once more as... Read More
Nadia Murad – a Yazidi voice against slavery
While it is dangerous to fall into a good/evil analysis of world politics, there is little to see of “good” in the ISIS actions. Thus,... Read More
Recasting the Levant
The approach in the Levant should be to hold and manage territory using international military force, deterring further escalations, for the indefinite future until informal... Read More
Kurdish cooperation and renewal – is there a way forward?
The Paris meeting ended with a call for a “national dialogue to begin at the earliest time” which is certainly necessary. However, a dialogue within... Read More
The myth of the “clean war”
Trump’s worldview promises low-cost military success. The blasting apart of civilian lives in Iraq says otherwise.
Self-determination is an inalienable right
Self-determination is not a gift to be awarded by the graces of any governing authority; it is an inherent right that every ethnic, religious, and... Read More
What was the Islamic State? Will it be back?
If and when a renewed Islamic State appears, the international community might do well to manage its emergence more carefully than for the first Islamic... Read More
Don’t believe anything you read about Kirkuk
The unopposed invasion of Kirkuk by troops ostensibly loyal to Baghdad of uncertain provenance and without anything other than token Peshmerga resistance to occupation of... Read More
The Iraqi Kurdistan vote – a look back on the long struggle for Kurdish independence
Turkey, Iran and Syria all fear that moves for an independent Kurdish state in Iraq will lead to demands within their state for greater Kurdish... Read More
The survival game – post-referendum politics in Iraqi Kurdistan
The regional hostile post-referendum moves may seem to leave the Kurds with little reason for optimism, but in Kurdistan, resistance never comes as a surprise.
The Iraqi Kurds’ independence is decades overdue
The US and EU must be in the forefront in supporting Iraqi Kurds to achieve independence, and bring an end to the historic travesty that... Read More
Ending Iraq’s humanitarian crisis
It is time to end the Iraqi tragedy. Much of the healing and prospects for a better and more promising future is in the hands... Read More
UN report highlights violations of humanitarian international law
There is a pressing need for actions to be taken to implement humanitarian international law in response to increased challenges. Citizens of the World stress... Read More
Combatting extremism – the reformative paradigm of Saudi Arabia
The experience of Saudi Arabia shows that there is cause for cautious optimism, and the phenomenon of uncompromising and politically destabilising radical political Islam may be a... Read More
Iraq – where there are no solutions then where should we look?
If the international community does not act in tandem, through the medium of its vehicle of consensus, the United Nations, then there exists a very... Read More
Questions and answers about some of the raging events in the Middle East – part two
Dr. Alon Ben-Meir, professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU, answers some additional questions concerning the turmoil in the Middle East and... Read More
Battle for Mosul – can there be respect for the laws of war?
To prevent and alleviate human suffering, to protect life and health, and to ensure respect for the human person – these are the core values... Read More
What happened to America?
President Obama’s legacy is on the line. He must either rise to meet the challenge by taking courageous and decisive military measures; or continue his... Read More
Oil Jihad – a strategic weapon against low prices?
For terrorist outfits like Al Qaeda and ISIS, low oil prices are counter-productive. These organizations, much like Venezuela, depend mostly on oil for their revenues... Read More
“People far from the fire don’t feel the heat” – an update from Iraqi Kurdistan
TransConflict is pleased to present a letter written by Cathy Breen who is currently part of a peacemaking team in Iraqi Kurdistan with Muslim Peacemaker Teams,... Read More
How do we defeat Islamo-Nihilism?
To fully rescue Islam from the nihilistic violence of today will mean championing an Islam that is radical in its embrace of the excluded other,... Read More
Defeating ISIS and ending Sunni-Shiite war in Iraq
Now that the conditions on the ground have changed and ISIS is on the retreat, President Obama can help with the full support of its... Read More
The crumbling Islamic State – its desperate violations of humanitarian law
These grave violations by ISIS must be protested by as wide a coalition of concerned voices as possible. There is a real danger that, as... Read More
